09/25/09

$5.00 iced mocha?!

by duke2009

I took a friend here for coffee today and was amazed to find out that the Mad Hatter charges $5.00 for an iced mocha. It was just a bit of coffee and chocolate milk in a plastic cup full of crushed ice. Five dollars? Really? ----

They offer a selection of mediocre cooked food and pretty nasty danishes. The brownies and cookies are OK. The best thing there is the selection of croissants trucked in from the incomparable Guglhupf. Come early in the morning if you want to get one. If you come early in the morning, you'll also avoid their arbitrary midday wi-fi cutoff. ----

Not nearly as nice as Joe van Gogh or even the Broad Street Cafe, but the convenience to East Campus is hard to beat.

• Pros: Close to E. Campus, free coffee refills, Guglhupf croissants
• Cons: High prices, low-quality food

02/08/09

Great cakes/pastry. Below Average Coffee

by bullseyeguy

The cakes are awesome! i would recommend the Strawberry Shortcake. The German Chocolate is also VERY good!

01/29/09

Too much icing, not enough cake

by zoraunc

I purchased a piece white cake with chocolate icing from Mad Hatter's last night. I was shocked to find that most of it was icing. You could see where 1 pan of cake had been sliced in to 3 pieces and then stacked with excessive amounts of icing between each layer. Basically, each layer of icing was as thick or thicker than each layer of cake. The cake-to-icing ratio was way off. The cake had a good flavor, but I ended up scrapping the layers of icing off the cake. Otherwise, it would have been too much. I first went to Mad Hatter's 14 years ago and they made some of the best cakes around. As of late, the quality has taken a nose dive. It is obvious that Mad Hatters is making some adjustment in this shaky economy, but that doesn't mean you fill a cake with icing. I would rather have a shorter cake than one made taller with icing.

06/28/08

Amazing cakes!

by Gigglyeeyore

We would go here anytime! My family has gotten lunch there many times and the food has always been wonderful. They have a nice selection and healthy options for kids. Their baked goods are hard to beat, and they have a large variety of specialty cakes to order ahead of time. We often like to stop in and browse the variety of cakes they have already available and select one of our old favorites (the mint is amazing, and the ever present black and white is always a nice treat). I love scones, and their chocolate chip scones are exceptionally yummy - but due to the high demand their batches sometimes sell out fast.

• Pros: amazing food, great service
• Cons: None

05/30/08

Where in the world has mad Hatters gone? oh where oh where can they be?

by respectability

Wow. I had just picked up the phone to order several cakes from Mad Hatter for a party I am having. I am not going to place an order based on the negative reviews I have just read. Have been several times myself and thought the food was okay, but yes the wait staff was rude, and I figured at least the cakes that they built their business on would be safe. Obviously not. And obviously they need to get rid of the cake guy that seems to be coming up again and again in the reviews before Mr. Personality drives everyone away with his charm. Bye Mad Hatters. There are plenty of other great businesses that will be happy to give me my cakes..........

05/08/08

The worst noodle I can remember.

by poopaskoopa

Ok, first, let me say that I actually like the place "ok". I think their bakery/cake stuff is ok. I like sweets. I like coffee. I like hanging out with my friends and drink coffee and eat sweets. This place is good for that.

But do not ever order their noodle soup. I should share the blame for ordering a noodle soup at a bake shop. I should have ordered something that is baked. Their noodle soup is simply the worst noodle soup I have ever had. This is nothing personal. It's just that, I look back at all the times that I ordered noodle soup, and I can name none that's worse.

Personally, I think almost all the mexican restaurants around here taste the same. You order one of those combos with a taco, burrito, and rice. Can you distinguish one from another? I can't. But this noodle soup is so bad that I'll always remember the place for how bad it is. Everything else is pretty nice. They should just take that embarrassment off the menu, if they haven't already. This was a while back.

• Pros: Bakery's pretty good.
• Cons: The worst noodle soup in the area.

03/02/08

Horribly Disappointing Wedding Cake

by smithwla1

As a Duke undergrad, I loved the cakes at Mad Hatters, so when it came time to choose a baker for our wedding, Mad Hatters was the obvious choice. I ignored the advice of a florist, who told me that he was embarrassed about the looks and taste of a cake from here at a recent wedding that he helped with, thinking that surely he was just being dramatic. The only part of our planning process that went smoothly with this baker was the meeting where they got their money. After that, it made absolutely no difference what I had asked for (specifically no fondant icing) or how many times I called trying to speak with Jason, who I was told was the only person I could speak with to confirm my details. Not only did my cake come with fondant icing that was so dry it just fell off the cake when it was cut, the cake itself was so dry it must have been made MANY days ahead of our big day. Guests and family also expressed their disappointment with the cake, since I'd talked up how good it would be - how embarrassing! It pains me to even see pictures of the cake from our wedding day because it makes me angry all over again thinking about the $1,200 we wasted with these horribly organized and unattentive bakers. Don't make the same mistake I did.....or at least be prepared to write your own bad review after your event!

02/03/08

happy to have found it

by vmarlow

after frequenting a number of like priced, quick food establishments, it is nice to finally see one deliver on their hype. i am sick of eating so so food out of baskets or the ubiquitous metal tray. at mad hatters, i got a tasty fresh meal (spicy shrimp wrap one time and goat cheese salad another time) in a great portion size on a real plate served in a warm light filled dining room surrounded by local art. considering their organic and made from scratch food the price is a bargain. i can easily spend as much at whole foods without the portion size, service or ambiance. i will come again and again - next time the specialty hot dog!

• Pros: good price for what you get, rotating local art, light filled warm dining room
• Cons: more seating would be great - another move to a larger building?

02/02/08

my fav haunt for tasty food and great treats

by bbloves

thank you mad hatter for having delicious organic food and friendly service. the atmosphere is wonderful and cheery. thanks for having the intelligence to cut off wi-fi at lunch - its nice when people are talking and enjoying the food and not clicking away ignoring each other. when i want to get some work done (wi-fi is only off during the lunch hours) i come in the early afternoon and surf away with coffee and cake! love this establishment and hope they will be around for years to come....

• Pros: great food, great service, friendly atmosphere
• Cons: sharing parking lot with whole foods

01/16/08

Best Cakes Around!!!

by goldiesmom

As I was looking for the phone number to order my husband's bday cake, I was VERY surprised by all the negative cake reviews. We have been always 100% satisfied with the selection of cakes, not only the ones on hand but I specialty ordered three large different cakes for my son's graduation party, as well as a new years party, which all were perfect. The party goers raved about the cakes and even went themselves and had a great outcome. It totally beats anyplace in town!!!!!